This invention relates generally to telephone systems and more particularly, to an improved telephone control system which restricts telephone usage within the subscriber-determined levels and collects detailed data concerning permitted calls.
Charges for telephone service for a business subscriber usually are based upon a monthly basic service charge plus toll charges. The toll charges, in turn, include long distance charges and, in many areas, message unit charges for local calls. As overall charges increase, either because the subscriber uses the telephone more or because the toll rates increase, it becomes desirable for management in the business to more closely control telephone use. It is the purpose of such control to allocate telephone expenses, to minimize telephone use for non-business purposes, or to minimize telephone use by unauthorized personnel.
A typical business telephone facility includes an on-premise telephone exchange terminal, such as PBX or PABX equipment. Each telephone set is connected to the exchange terminal by a telephone line. An outgoing or incoming call can be extended when the exchange terminal connects a telephone line to a trunk line running to and from a telephone company central office.
There are available various telephone monitoring systems which have been designed to provide a subscriber with greater control over telephone set usage. For example, one prior system collects and stores data concerning the number dialed, the telephone set used, the elasped time and the time and date of each call made through the subscriber's facility. The system requires that a user, after dialing a desired number, dial a personal identification number, which is also stored. Once the user dials his personal identification number, use of the telephone set is unrestricted. Thus, this system does not prevent a user from placing calls beyond certain levels.
In another prior system, the telephone sets in a subscriber's facility are maintained in a normally disabled state. A potential user is required to dial a telephone set identification number before the set can be connected to an outgoing trunk line. The system operates to store the telephone set identification number and to collect and store data concerning the number dialed, the elasped time and the time and date of each call. This system, however, like the above mentioned system, does not control the types of calls made by a user. Additionally, this system does not provide the subscriber with the option of supplying different users with different call authorization levels.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved telephone control system.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved telephone control system which controls the types of calls made by each user.
Another object of the invention is to provide a telephone control system of the type described in which use of a telephone set in a subscriber's facility by any person is restricted to certain subscriber-determined levels for that person.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a telephone control system of the type described which employs a user identification card and which, in response to reading the card, detects the individual user's call authorization level, and restricts use of a telephone set according to the user's level.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a telephone control system of the type described which collects and stores detailed data concerning each user and each permitted call.